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Manual of Women in which is contained many and diverse very good recipes (Fonte)
Powder for the teeth
Five ounces of alabaster, and four ounces of porcelain, and six ounces
of fine sugar, and one ounce of white coral, and another one (ounce) of
cinnamon, and a half (ounce of) pearl, and a half (ounce of) musk. Grind
it all together. Clean the teeth with the powder and rinse the mouth with
tepid white wine.
Scented burning-sticks (incense)
Three ounces of benzoin, one ounce of storax, half an ounce of amber,
two ounces of willow charcoal soaked in orange blossom water, an ounce
of gum of Ghent (gum tragacanth?) dissolved in musk-perfumed water, a
half cuarto of musk, a cuarto
of civet, another cuarto of aloe. All these things
are mashed and passed through a sieve. Mix them into a paste with musk-perfumed
water and put with them an eighth of an ounce of sugar, and make it into
sticks and dry them in the shade.
Scented cazoleta
One ounce of benzoin, and half an ounce of storax, a quarter of an ounce
of amber and another (quarter of an ounce) of musk. Grind all these, and
cook it in a cooking-pan with a half-cuarto of
musk-perfumed water and another half (cuarto) of
civet. Leave it on the fire until the water has boiled off.
Soap for the face
Two ounces of white soap scalded in water boiling within a cloth and strained
through the cloth; and a cuarto of mastic, and
a half cuarto of southernwood resin, and a cuarto
of borax and one ounce of white sugar. Grind all these things, and pass
them through a sieve, mix them into a paste with the soap and put it in
little boat-shaped lumps, and put in each lump a drop of ros de bota.
Soap for the hands
One ounce of gourd seeds, and another one (ounce) of cleaned melon seeds,
and another ounce of radish seeds. Mix everything together with two ounces
of soap from Cyprus and mash it with honey and make it into balls.
Finest civet
Half an ounce of amber, a dram of musk, four drams of muscatel oil, three
drams of spice oil, two drams of Gaul nutmeg and another two (drams) of
aloe. Heat the amber with the muscatel oil and spices in a vessel of glass
or silver. And as it is heated, mix the aloe and Gaul nutmeg, and as it
reheats mix in the musk and a little saffron. And store it in a vessel
of gold or silver.
Powders to dry tears and clear vision
Of burned shells and drilled pearls: the weight of two reales
of each. Of starch and alcohol: the weight of one real of each. Day-old
tutty prepared with rose water and of euphrasies: the weight of four reales.
Of camphor and crystallized sugar: the weight of half a real each. Burnt
date-stones and myrobalan-seeds: the weight of one real each. Grind all
these things and pass them through a very thick seive and place them in
a box and a cloth of taffeta above with some weights. He who has this
infirmity, line the eyes with these powders.
Bitumen to weld glass
Take a little white lead and a little varnish. Bring it in a mortar until
it is made into an ointment. And since it is made into an ointment it
will stick.
Comforting tablets for perfume
Courbaril, aloe, rose sugar, grease, southernwood resin and storax. Grind
everything in a mortar, as much of (each) one as the other in equal parts.
And make them into a paste with musk-perfumed water to make your tablets.
Ointment for abcesses
Take a half-ounce of quince-seeds put to soak in four ounces of orange
blossom water at midday. Remove the gum with a somewhat thin cloth. Three
ounces of the fat of a capon, or duck, or a hen which is fresh, and another
three ounces of almond oil and three ounces of white wax. Melt all these
things and put them in a warm mortar. And put with them one of the seeds,
and mix it well with the pestle that is also warm. And once it is cold,
get out the well-beaten whites of two eggs and put it in to mix well.
And keep it in a vessel of glass. It lasts thirty days in cold, and in
warm fifteen days.
Oil to keep the face fresh
Put in a glass vessel an azumbre of hot water and
a pound of myrrh. Cover the vessel well with borax paste. And put this
vessel under some dung and leave it for forty days. And when the forty
days are past take the hot water and myrrh out of the vessel, and put
it all together in a glass still. And close the still, cover it very well
with the same as the same vessel, and put it in a put it in a cooking-pan
that is full of cold ashes. Put this cooking-pan next to a cooker and
give it a low fire from underneath until the first water is dry, which
you will know when you see it start to make a tube. And when you see this,
put it in a receptacle where you can collect this second water, which
will have be golden. And when it starts to drip thickly, take out that
receptacle and put another in which you will collect the last water; and
you will always keep the fire strong as the water is leaving. And as you
have gotten out all of your water, cover your vials. And with that last
water you will apply one time for ever. And don't wash until three days
have passed, and with the other second you will apply whenever you desire.
Pomade for the face and hands
Take half a pound of unsalted pig grease, broken into small pieces and
mashed very well. Leave it alone for a night, and afterward melt it in
a new cooking-pan and strain it through a cloth, and put it in rose water.
And put with it a cuarto of sweet apple and cloves,
and put it to boil until the water is boiled off. Stir in an ounce of
the oil of sweet almonds, and a half-ounce of the oil of bitter almonds,
and a quart of the peach-pit oil, and one ounce of seed oil, and another
ounce of opium poppy oil, and one ounce of white wax. And all these oils
and the wax have been put in while it is near cooked. And when you wish,
strain it to remove the apple and the cloves. And afterward keep it in
a glass vessel.
For weakness of the heart
Take a chicken and kill it. And as soon as you kill it, skin it, and take
out all the fat, and cut it into pieces. And put it into a glass still.
And put with it four adarmes of ground-up walnuts,
and another four (adarmes) of cinnamon, and of
cloves and ginger each two adarmes. Grind all these
spices. And cover the still with mortar, and put it on the fire. And take
the water out of it while it thickens. And as it thickens, take it out
of the receptacle. And give this water to he who is ill and he will heal.
Remedy for the flow of blood
Take a cuarta of southernwood resin, and another
of mastic, and a balausta, and three ground-up walnuts and a half-dozen
cloves. Grind all these things and pass them through a sieve. And the
woman who has infirmity, take two roasted eggs, which are soft, and empty
the whites, and fill it with these powders and drink them. Do this nine
mornings and you will be healed of this infirmity.
Unction for quinsy or sore throat
Take the juice from pieces of walnuts in the dog days and take two pounds
of it. And put it to cook and, as it comes to boil, put with it a pound
of good honey. And cook it all together until it thickens to to the consistency
of honey, and keep it in a glass vessel.
For little rose-pillows
Put roses without leaves on a sheet out of the sun. Let them dry a little,
and afterward put them in a sifter and sprinkle them with a little musk-perfumed
water. And put the sifter on a cosío, and place a perfumer within
with benzoin. And perfume it for two days with benzoin, twice a day. And
afterwards perfume them with paste. And afterwards put the roses in a
washbasin, and sprinkle them with the same water, and dust them with a
little aloe and return them. And put a bit of musk on them and return
them. And turn them to sprinkle, and pulverize the cloves and return them.
And put them in your cushion. And when they are inside, take out the musk,
and aloe, and cloves, and civet, and powders. And put another cover on
the little cushion.
To remove freckles from the face
Take a fresh egg and remove the white. Clean the yolk well and the shell
too; put the yolk in the eggshell. And make a powder of myrrh and tincal,
and clarimente and rock sugar, as much of one as the other. And
take the egg and bring it to a candle. And when you know it has begun
to become warm, put in it the powders as much as will fit in a white,
and mix it with your finger. And put it on your face at night, and in
the morning wash your face in the normal way.
Scented burning-sticks (incense) for
the teeth
A half ounce of southernwood resin, a half (ounce) of mastic, a half (ounce)
of calamus gum, a half (ounce) of walnut-tree root, a half (ounce) of
sage, a half (ounce) of mastic, a half (ounce) of burnt alum, a half (ounce)
of rock comfrey, a half (ounce) of white coral, a half (ounce) of red
coral, a quarter of an ounce of cagibia, another quarter of an
ounce of galingale, another (quarter-ounce) of cinnamon, another (quarter-ounce)
of cloves, a half ounce of burned date-seeds, a half ounce of balastica
roses, a half (ounce) of white pumice-stone and a half ounce of seed powder.
Gather it all, powdered well with musk-perfumed tragacanth. And make the
sticks, dry them in the sun or in the shade.
Remedy for the molars
Take seeds from a small onion, and fat and yellow wax: of all these things
equal parts. Mix them well and make little balls of (the mixture). And
take a small-mouthed jar, and take off the bottom, and make a hole in
it, and put it on top of an escudilla or a vessel
of water. Put it over a small fire and put inside it one of the little
balls. And the mouth to the mouth of the jar, so that you will receive
all that smoke. And receive the smoke of three or four balls. And the
pain will stop and will remove the worms if there are any.
Remedy for the teeth
Make a concoction of white wine and esquiriola root. And wipe your
mouth with it and your teeth won't hurt.
Remedy for earache
Juice of ivy or vereda terrestre put in the ear which hurts. It
will hurt later more than before, and after that it will stop.
For the pain of teeth or molars
Take the seed of mint and put it on live coals. And take the smoke of
it in your mouth. It will stop the pain and kill the worms.
Remedy for the teeth
Take rust-leaf and put it on the drilled tooth, and you will heal it.
Remedy for the molars
Two ounces of dry roses, and another two (ounces) of myrobalans, two (ounces)
of the green parts of Cyprian walnuts, a half ounce of alum stone, a quarter
(ounce) of southernwood resin, a small measure of honey, a half of an
azumbre (that is, a liter) of white wine. Put all
of this in a new pot and lid it well, cook it until it diminishes by half.
And as it is cooked, strain it and put it in a glass flask. And when your
molars hurt, you put this concoction to the fire to temper. And take it
in your mouth on the part of the teeth that hurt, and it will take away
the pain after a while.
Water for the face
Put calamus gum in a still, and remove the water from it over a low fire.
And after the water is removed, to the quantity of an azumbre
of water, put in a hazelnut of rock sugar. And let it sit in the sun,
and let it rest for nine days. It is very good for the face.
Water for the face
Half a hanega of flour, sifted so often that only
a celemín remains. Then knead this flour with goat-milk
and cook it, making a bread, in the oven. And as you take it from the
oven, put it in a glass washbasin, and cover it with white wine. And once
it is soaked, which will happen as it foams, put it in a still over a
very low fire, and remove water from this bread. And as the water is removed,
put it in a flask to cure in the sun and at rest nine days. It is very
good.
Powders to remove color
The powders to remove color on the face are powders of the sea and they
are called caustic soda.
For the thorns of the face
Take a sweet lime and cut the top off, and put a little salt inside it
and put it to cook over the embers. And it cooks until it is soft. And
to remove the thorns, you will wet yourself with this juice. And put powdered
ginger on top.
Remedy to prevent hair growth
The juice of sweet limes beaten with egg whites. Comb the hair, put (the
mixture) on (the hair), and powder it with powdered ginger. At three or
four times that this is done it will not return to grow any more.
Tallow for the hands
Kid tallow well-washed and the veins removed. Melt it in a glass cooking-pot
with rose water and strain it. Then throw in a little aceite de mata
(mastic-tree oil?), and a little turpentine, and three or four grains
of mastic resin, and a little wax foam. And return it to the fire and
make little loaves.
Lotion for the hands
An orange roasted in the embers and then set to rest in an escudilla
of white wine. Wash the hands at night with this, when you go to lay down,
and in the morning, with such wine cooked in black figs, and the feathers
of a black hen and the white excrement of a dog.
Recipe to make solimán (a corrosive
sublimate?)
(I had a lot of trouble understanding this recipe. I'll post it when
I have a better grasp on it.)
Remedy for tooth decay
Take ginger, and crushed walnut, and cloves, and heart of pine, and nutgalls,
and lantisco, and sage, and rosemary, and rock alum; of all these
things equal parts. And to the quantity of one azumbre
of white wine, which is very fine, you will put in a quantity of a half
ounce of each thing. And you will cook it in an earthenware pot until
it measures from four parts to three (that is, until it's cooked down
by a quarter). And as it is cooked, put in an escudilla
and pass it, by a strip of linen in the other. And as it is strained,
he who has tooth decay should wash his mouth with this concoction nine
mornings I urge and he will kill everything.
Powders to clean the teeth
Rosemary burnt to death in white wine and air-dried, mastic, southernwood
resin, calamus gum, red coral, cinnamon: of all these things equal parts,
as much of one as the other, ground up, and passed through a sieve and
together. Clean the teeth with them and rinse the mouth with tepid white
wine.
Remedy for deafness
Take the urine in a escudilla of clay which is
not glass. And beat it well with a spoon for an hour. And after it is
beaten, make some strip of two or cotton so big that they cover the ear,
and no larger. Wet one of these strips with the urine and put it on the
ear where there was deafness. And have it for the space of a creed, and
remove it, and put it on to soak, and put it back on. And put it above
a bolster as of bloodletting, and take the head with a cloth in a manner
that you cover the ear; and on the other you take off to let it get air.
And do this four or five times a day, between day and night, and do it
thirty days. And the urine you will take every three days. And if it smells
very bad, take it every two days.
Soap for the hands
Take a pound of grated Valencian soap and put it bind in a thick cloth.
And put it in a pot of boiling water, and cook it there until it's turned
blue. And while it is cooking, take an escudilla
of it, and another of honey, and another of cow's bile, and half the juice
of a lily, and an escudilla of vinegar. And put
it all together in a cook-pot, and cook it until it is thick, always stirring
it. And if you want to make them into little balls, let it cook until
it is hard.
Powders for the eyes
One ounce of prepared, ground and sifted tutty; a dram of hienda de
lagarto, rock sugar one ounce, thus ground and sifted, mix it well
in a mortar. Put these powders in your eyes twice every day: once before
breakfast two hours before eating and the other (time) in the afternoon
two hours before you eat supper. It clears the vision.
Mudas for the face and hands
Half a pound of black figs, a fourth part of good raisins, the seeds removed,
and a little sesame: all this well ground. A little unrefined honey and
a fresh egg yolk: all mixed very well, and kneaded and made into a pellet.
When you want to put it on, dissolve it with water for the face; and when
you want to put it on the face, if you don't want it to seem like much,
surround it in a cloth when you want it to dissolve.
Soap for the head
Three fourths of grated soap, two (fourths of) cow bile, an escudilla
of honey, another escudilla of lye, two maravedís
of rough cumin, two (maravedís) of bastard saffron
(that is, safflower), two (maravedís) of orpiment,
two (maravedís) of golden ginger, two (maravedís)
of barberry: grind all these things, and together with the soap and lye
in a pan, and mix everything together well. And put it where it can get
sun and rest and leave it until it is stiff, taking care to stir it every
day. And once it is stiff, wet your hand in lye, making it into little
cakes and return them to the sun, and leave them until they have become
stiff. And as they are stiff, keep them and wash with them.
Water for the face
For an azumbre and a half of water, two ounces
of well-ground gourd seeds, adding in water until soaked. Put them in
a cloth and remove any water, and put it in a flask. And again grind the
seeds, and again add water, and remove the milk. Do this as many times
until the water that leaves is white. Put in the water enough solimán
stone as a chick-pea, and a little camphor, and another little bit of
honey -- that is here below -- and a white verdigris. And shake well and
let it cure for nine days in the sun and rest.
The recipe for making the honey
Take an escudilla of unrefined honey and put in
it the white of an egg. And stir it well, and put in a little cooked solimán
and a little borax. And again stir it well, and put it to cure at rest
for nine days where it won't be in the sun.
Ointment for rashes
Half a pound of goat tallow, three maravedís of
fish, two maravedís of rock sulphur, three (maravedís)
of oil, one ounce of strong southernwood resin, a little honey and a little
curdled zera. Make ointment of these things. And if you've started
having a rash, put in a little vinegar with these things.
Softener for the hands
Take the marrow from six sheep, and the top of the skulls from their heads,
and a loaf of kid-tallow of (the size of) an escudilla
and mix it all together. Melt and wash it with crude water, and after
with rose water, and then with lemon juice. And then add a little of this
juice together with water from fresh argol, and mix it well. And after
it has been washed well, add with it two ounces of bitter almond oil and
four ounces of opium poppy oil. And stir everything together; and once
it is well mixed, keep it in various bottles.
Scented burning-sticks for perfume
A pound of benzoin, half (a pound) of storax, make it all into a powder.
One eighth part of musk, and half (an eighth part) of civet, five ounces
of Ghent gum (gum tragacanth?) re-soaked in rose water for seven or eight
days, and strained. Nine ounces of ground willow charcoal passed through
a sieve. Bring all these things together and knead them with the Ghent
gum (gum tragacanth?). And when they are kneaded, make sticks of the stuff
and dry them where they will not be in the sun.
Aroma-pot for perfume
Take three ounces of benzoin, and an ounce and a half of storax, and an
adarme of civet, and another (adarme)
of amber; and if you want to put in more civet and amber, it will be better.
And put these things in a cooking-pot and put them to cook over a low
fire.
Ointment for ringworm
Take lard, and add soot, and make an ointment from it. And shave the head
of he who has ringworm and grease it with this ointment.
Recipe for making
chorizo sausage
Minced lean and fat pork meat, well-sifted flour, peeled (cloves of) garlic,
ground cloves, white wine, salt. Knead everything together with the wine
and after kneading it, leave it in a covered vessel for one natural day.
And then fill the intestines of a cow or pig, whichever you want, with
this mixture and leave them to dry in smoke.
For spots on the face
Mustard and ground arugula, white honey and cow's bile: everything together
and well mixed. And add in uncleaned wool and mix everything together
well. Dry this wool in the sun in its bladders until it's been cured well.
And the woman who had spots on the face, put these wools to re-soak in
water for the face, and leave them to re-soak for an hour or two. And
then put them on the face at night or during the day as desired. Remove
the spot.
Remedy for the pain in the side (as
a stitch in the side)
Take two fresh cow-kidneys, from a cow which has recently died, and cut
them into small bits, and put them in a clay pot. And stir in an escudilla
of eating oil, which is good, and put the lid on it, and close it and
put it to the fire. And cook it until the kidneys burst. And as you see
that the kidneys have burst, divide it. And when the side hurts, take
this oil from those kidneys and put with it as much cow's fat as an egg.
And put it to the fire. And as the fat is melted and the oil is tepid,
bring together with it as much rose oil as the third part (that is, as
much rose oil as a third of the other oil), and two egg yolks beaten alone.
And thus bring together it all and mix it, and get an enema of it to the
patient and he will become healthy.
Remedy against the pestilence
Get the weight of one real of cow horn scraped with a narrow file, and
mix it with a little fine honey, and dissolve it with poppy water. And
give it to the ill person to drink, and wrap him well much because he
will sweat and keep the sweat. And if he had a great thirst and he could
not stand it, let him drink lemon syrup watered down with water of the
fruit of the strawberry-tree, which has been very watered down. And when
you have done this having used first the other medicines of bloodlettings,
and cuppings and plasters. It will be the bloodletting of the same side
where there was a dry vein closer to it.
Plucker for the hair
Take the best resin you can find, and put it to cook in a cooking-pot
and leave it to cook. You will know it is cooked thus: take a little out
with a little stick and put it on your hand and let it reheat; and take
the stick out, and if it is flexible and leaves the hand white, it is
cooked. And then add cold water, and stir in the cold water until the
resin has become cold. And when it is cold, you will put it on like you'd
make concentrated honey paste, putting it always in the water until it
is white. And when it is white, you will have made your hair remover.
Mudas for the hands
Take an escudilla of grape verjuice, and another
of cow's bile, and half a cup of grated soap, and three ounces of seed
oil, and another three (ounces) of opium poppies, and an ounce and half
of bitter almond oil, and an ounce of aceite de mata, and a little
well-ground verditer, and a little cuttlebone. Bring it together in a
vessel, and put it to the fire until the soap disintegrates. And when
it has disintegrated, put it in a glass jug, and let it cure in the sun
for nine days, stirring it every day two or three times so it does not
settle. And when it has cured, put it on the hands. And the more you can
put on the hands without washing the better it is.
Water for the gums
Fill a still with plantain leaves and put with them a half ounce of myrrh,
and another half (ounce) of rock alum made into powder. And remove this
water, and mix it together with the half of water of rose heads. And put
with these waters two ounces of white vinegar, and keep this water in
a barrel. And if you have bad gums, take this water every morning, on
waking up, in the mouth, and have it whenever you suffer this; and clean
(your gums) afterwards gently with a linen cloth.
Pasticas of scent to perfume
Put in a glass flask two pounds of rose water, and one (pound) of orange
blossom water. And put inside it two ounces of benzoin, and one (ounce)
of storax, and a little amber, and another little bit of civet. Grind
everything. And put the flask to the fire and cook it until it has diminished
three fingers' breadth. And watch when you put the flask to the fire that
the whole neck (of the flask) is empty so it will not explode. And when
it has diminished three fingers' breadth, empty the water, and make the
pasticas of the paste from the flask and dry them in a place where
they will not be in the sun.
Water to wash the face
Put in a vessel an azumbre and a half of river
water. And put in it some very warm pebbles. And when they have grown
cold, take them out, and put in the water two maravedís
of camphor, and two (maravedís) of tincal, and
two (maravedís) of clarimente, and one of
solimán stone, and two (maravedís) of raw
white lead, and one (maravedí) of verdigris, and
two (maravedís) of cuttlebone, and a fistful of
gourd seeds and a little myrrh: grind all these things, and a half an
escudilla of unrefined honey. Put the water in
a barrel, and put the barrel in the sun for nine days, and stir it every
day. And when the nine days have passed, you will have made your water.
Recipe for making
hardtack-biscuits
For two escudillas of flour, you will take one
(escudilla) of sugar. And to the quantity of two
pounds of sugar you will add half (of what measure?) of oil, which is
very good, and as much yeast as a little bit of ground anise and the salt
which is necessary. And you knead all this together with white wine. And
after kneading it, you will leave it for two or three hours. And then
knead it well until it has become soft again, and make your little loaves.
And after making them, leave them preserved from the cold to rest three
or four hours. And then cook them in your oven. And when they are cooked,
take them out; and close the oven and let them rest for a half hour or
an (hour). And then put them back in the oven and leave them for four
or five hours.
Tint for tawny toques
Dissolve verdigris in water and, when dissolved, put the toques in it,
so they take the color equally; and then dry the toques. And take an ounce
of brazilwood, and three ounces of fustic, and, cut up very well, put
it to cook in a pitcher that is not very large, and cook it until it measures
half. And as it has cooked, strain the dye and boil the toques in it,
each one by itself. And as you remove the dye, wash them in cold water
and dry them. And if you want them to stop dark, leave them to boil well,
on the contrary.
Scented fine powder
Dry the flower of a white lily in the shade, and grind it. And pass it
through a sieve, and knead it with orange blossom water, until it is neither
very thin nor very thick. And tend it in an escudilla,
and perfume it with storax, and benzoin and sugar until it is dry, or
with tablets. And after it is dry, again knead it, and tend it and let
it dry again. And do this three or four times. And then knead it with
musk-scented water, and tend it in the escudilla
and perfume it with amber put in a glass vessel on the fire. And make
these baths and perfumes of the amber seven or eight times. And leave
it then to dry. And if it gets moldy, remove the flower. And put the escudilla
in the sun, the mouth downward, and leave it be for a while. And when
they are dry, perfume it with the amber and musk that you desire, and
put a little civet with the remainder.
Moorish stew
Take a pot and put in the bottom of it a low-mouthed escudilla.
And put inside it eighteen ounces of goat tallow or sheep tallow which
was of the kidneys, and a dozen or more onions, cut into quarters. And
put it to the fire, that is a charcoal fire, and cook an hour or more.
Cut up three pounds of goat meat, which is of the back and the chest,
and another three (pounds) of mutton. And when you have cut them into
pieces, throw it all together in the stew-pot and it will cook until it
is done. Put with them a few soaked chick-peas and the salt which is necessary.
And as it is cooked, put in the stew many spices of cloves, and cinnamon
and a little caraway. And this you will do when you want to please.
Recipe for making
hojaldes
Wet the dough with almond milk, which is as thick as you can make it,
and throw it like he who is making concentrated honey pastes, putting
lard and ground sugar, little by little, and wetting it with the almond
milk. And having stirred well, and having put in the (almond) milk and
sugar and lard that will be enough, add to the dough a little sweet almond
oil and mix it all together. And when it is mixed, make the hojaldes
on wafers. And make the face of the hojalde from sugar sprinkled
with rose water as marzipan. And cook them in a low oven without flame.
Recipe for making
fritters
To twelve ounces of dough, a pound of whitened almonds. Six ounces (of
almonds) ground and mixed together with the dough, and the other (six
ounces of almonds) make (almond) milk. When you crush the almonds for
mixing with the dough, crush with them a half pound of sugar; and together
with this, join the dough with the (almond) milk in a washtub, and make
the dough as one usually does for those other fritters. And when the dough
is done, fry the fritters in good oil. And when they're fried, smear them
with honey. Then put on your sugar and cinnamon on top, and if you desire
to put whitened pine nuts on top it will be better.
Very fine pottage
For each escudilla of pottage, eight egg yolks
and a little bit of goat's milk. Mix the yolks with the milk. And when
they are mixed well, cook it until it thickens. And when it has thickened,
add a little butter and a little sugar, and finish cooking with that.
And when it has cooked, make the escudillas, and
put sugar and cinnamon on top.
Sauce for cooking and
grilling
Toasted crusts of king's bread, cleaned almonds, after the grains are
removed, bitter pomegranates. All this well crushed and dissolved with
an egg white or a broth which isn't greasy. Pass through a sieve and add
cinnamon, and ginger and a little sugar. And cook it over a low fire which
will be enough.
Recipe for barley
water
To make an escudilla of barley water take a fistful
of crushed and cleaned barley. Cook in water until it comes apart. Make
a half-escudilla of almond milk, and bring that
together with chicken broth according to the doctor's orders. Crush the
cooked barley, and cook it with the (almond) milk and broth, and strain
through a clean cloth. And once it has been strained through the cloth,
put a little sugar with that broth. And cook it according to the will
of the patient: as thick or as clear as he would like to eat it.
Recipe to keep peaches
fresh until Christmas
Take the half-ripe peaches with their stems, so that the peaches will
not be hurt. And put them in a glass vessel, the stem above so that it
will not be too tight. And put in honey to cover them. And put this glass
vessel under the earth and cover it with another glass vessel. And cover
the gaps in the glasses well with plaster, so that air won't get in. And
leave them as long as you'd like. And when you remove them they will come
out as if you had just taken them from the tree.
Remedy for asthma
Stew eggs in cat's fat, and give the eggs to he who is sick from asthma.
And everything that was stewed with butter, stew it with this fat. It
is a good remedy for asthma.
Pomanders to scent and invigorate
Four ounces of very fine laudanum, and two of calamita storax that
is gummy; an ounce and a half of benzoin, and one (ounce) of aloe and
another (ounce) of sallow sandalwood; a half ounce of musk, and six drams
of amber, three drams of civet. All these things ground and pulverized
together in a warm mortar and well pasted. Form the pomanders with orange
blossom water.
Tallow for the hands
Equal parts of goat tallow and kid tallow. Crushed in a mortar and washed
well two or three times. Rinse well it with water and put it to soak in
musk-scented water. It will soak for a day and a night. Then melt it in
a cooking-pot over a low fire. And when it is melted, strain it with a
cloth; and when it is solid, return it to melt. And put with it a little
goat's-foot oil. And make it into little loaves in musk-scented water.
And when they are the hardened loaves, rinse them from the water and keep
them.
Medicine to remove the spots from the
face
Take a pound of alacrín flowers, and two eighths and a half of
cinnamon, and others as much as nutmeg, and the same of mace, and of cloves,
and storax and courbaril: of each of these things a half ounce. Make all
these things into powders and bring them together with the alacrín
flowers. Put it together in a glass flask, and bury the flask under beast
dung and leave the neck out. It will be buried this way for a month. And
when a month has passed, remove the flask from the dung. And remove the
flower and the rest of the oil in the manner in which you have removed
the other oils. And if you desire to make alacrín-flower oil alone,
you will do it in this manner, except you will not add the spices and
the rest to what you make.
Recipe for making amber oil
Take whitened sweet almonds and mix them with orange blossom flowers.
Put them to the sun and let them cure in this manner: thirty days putting
a fresh orange blossom flower on where you have the almonds. And when
the thirty days have passed, remove the oil altogether, and you will remove
the orange blossom water. After removing it, put it in a flask, and put
with it amber, and ground musk and civet until the oil thickens a little.
And when it is thick, it will cure in the sun for forty days.
The way it is done without the orange
blossom
Take sweet almond oil and orange blossom water in equal parts, and put
it all together over the fire. And cook it until all the water has diminished,
and you will know that it has diminished in this way: make a wick and
soak it well in the oil, and light it; and if makes noise it is not done
cooking. And you will cook it until a wick soaked in it burns well when
ignited. And when it burns, return to put in enough water, and cook it
another tiem until it has diminished. And you wll do this three or four
times. And when you have cooked it, put in it the materials as in the
other and cure it in the same manner.
Musk-scented soap
Take a half ounce of calamita storax, and an ounce of benzoin,
and a quarter ounce of liquid storax and a quarter ounce of sallow sandalwood.
All this pulverized and well re-soaked in musk-scented water, mix together
with a half pound of white soap and with one ounce of deer marrow. And
cut everything up very well, sprinkling it with musk-scented water, and
you will cut it up until it has drunk one ounce of musk-scented water.
And then you will bring together with this the weight of a dinero
of amber, and a grain of musk dissolved in a little of this water. And
you will mix this very well in a stone mortar in the by whipping.
Recipe to make balm
Take an ounce of common olive oil, and a pound of turpentine, and two
ounces of pomegranate rinds, and another two (ounces) of mundice,
and two ounces of mastic, and a little saffron, and another little bit
of the seeds of the fruit of the balm of the Gilead tree. And you bring
these things together, putting them in a still; and put it over a tempered
fire at the beginning, intensifying it always. And in this manner you
will be left with the distilled balsam.
Recipe for Damascus violet
Take the root of the cardinal lily picked in the month of May, and dry
it in the shade. And make it into powder, take half a pound and one ounce
of sallow sandalwood, and a half ounce of rose water and a little calamita
storax. And make all these things into a dough with the juice of the cardinal
lily. And when cleansed, you will again pulverize it, and knead it. And
when it is dry, pulverize it again. And thus you will have made your very
fine violet.
Recipe for Alexandrian perfumes
Two ounces of black sea-heath, and six ounces of white sea-heath, one
(ounce) of borax, four ounces of laudanum, one (ounce) of liquid storax,
and two (ounces) of sallow sandalwood, and one ounce of calamita
storax; of cinamomo and aloe, of each thing two ounces; of amber
and of musk, one ounce of each thing; willow charcoal, prepared in white
vinegar, one ounce. Knead all these things with Ghent gum (gum tragacanth?).
Re-soaked in rose water, leave the gum to soak for one day. And when the
dough is made, make it into scented burning-sticks, or pellets or whatever
you want, and let it dry in the sun.
Recipes for scented waters
To make musk-scented water take one part of orange blossom water, and
two parts of rose water, and a little clover water, and another little
bit of myrtle water and another little bit of mosqueta. And mix
all these waters together in a flask, and put in it a few powders, and
a little amber, and ground musk and a little civet. And put a lid on the
flask, and put it to cure in the sun, and stir it every day.
To make water that smells a lot
Take a pound of red roses, and another (pound) of orange blossoms, and
another (pound) of laurel buds, and another (pound) of lily roots, and
two ounces of cloves, and half an ounce of lavender. Grind the cloves
and lavender, a little amber and another little bit of musk. Mix all these
things to remove them by still over a low fire.
To make another water that smells a lot
You will have a warning when the orange blossom water or rose water is
removed, put on the tip of the still a little musk and a little camphor,
mix everything together and bind it in a thin cloth.
To make clover water that's very fragrant
Take four ounces of clover seeds, and one (ounce) of cinnamon, and half
(an ounce) of cloves. And make all these things into powder. And fill
the still with roses dusting them with these powders. And you will remove
the water from the roses having at the beak of the still a linen cloth
with a little musk and camphor. Use these powders in the quantity of an
azumbre of water.
To make another fragrant musk-scented water, fill an still with roses,
and orange blossoms; one of roses and the other of orange blossoms, dusting
each with fine powders. Put at the beak of the still a cotton with a little
musk and civet, and remove this water over a low fire.
To make another very fine water take one part of roses without leaves
and two parts of orange blossoms, and if you have white rose flowers,
a little, and everything mixed. Put in each still that you take out four
or five ground cloves and pulverized, and put at the beak of the still
a cotton with a little musk and remove the water over a low fire.
Flours to wash the face
Take one escudilla from white beans, and another
(escudilla) of kidney beans, and another (escudilla)
of shelled black chick-peas, and another (escudilla)
of lupines, and another (escudilla) of corn cockles
and another (escudilla) of white radish seeds.
Grind all these things, and make a flour, knead with the juice of the
white of the radishes. And when it is thus a dough, leave it to dry in
the shade, and again grind it, and knead it with egg whites, and again
let it dry, and grind it and pass it through a sieve. And together with
this flour one ounce of tincal, and half (an ounce) of crystallized sugar
and one (ounce) of ginger. All these things also ground and sifted.
Bran for the hands
Take half a celemín of very refined bran, one escudilla
of French soap. Mix everything together and knead it with honey. And make
little loaves and let them dry in the sun.
Mudas for the throat and face
Crush in a mortar six tops of white lilies and put with them as much yeast
as a walnut, and an egg yolk, and a spoonful of unrefined honey, and as
much ground sifted gold and as will fit in a nutshell. Take everything
well in a mortar and dissolve it with water for the face. And when you
put it, take it out with a handful of cold water, and put it on with a
little of this lotion.
The softener for the face
Kid tallow and opium poppy oil. Everything mixed well together and put
with it a little raw solimán.
Softeners for the face
Half an ounce of deer marrow, and another half of heron fat, and an ounce
of bitter almond oil, and two ounces of opium poppy oil, one ounce of
mata oil, as much washed turpentine as a hazelnut, an ounce of
gourd seed oil, as much sheep skulls as an egg and another as much kid
tallow. Put all these things in an escudilla of
silver or of glass, and put this escudilla in a
stew-pot or cooking-pot of water boiling to melt it, in a manner so that
no water will get into it (the escudilla). And
put in it (the escudilla) as much white wax as
a walnut. And when it has melted, remove it from the fire and wash it
with rose water. And if you desire, you can put in it as much solimán
as a chick-pea.
Unction for combing hair
Two pounds of very fat and very well-blended bacon cut into small pieces.
And put it in a stew-pot, put with it a fourth part of head lye and four
maravedís of alhovas, and a fourth of linseed,
and a fourth of barberry, and a (fourth) of calamus gum, and another (fourth)
of bastard saffron (safflower), and another (fourth) of rough cumin. Put
the stew-pot on the fire with all these things, and once the bacon comes
apart, strain it with another large stew-pot and throw in three or four
lizards. And put the lid on the stew-pot very well. Cook it in the oven
and, when cooked, strain it and keep it in a bottle. And comb your hair
with it.
Lye for the head
Half a celemín of sifted vine-shoot ash, and an
almozada of the ash of Spanish broom. Put a pot of river water
or fountain water to the fire and, once it is boiling, throw that ash
inside, and leave it to boil twice, and then separate it and leave it
to rest until it is clear. And take as much of that lye as an azumbre,
and get out a glass jug, and put in it seven ounces of white burned argol
and lid the jug. Grate an ounce and a half of Valencian soap and throw
it inside, and stir it until the lees separate. And comb or skim the hair
with this lye in the sun, and then wash with other lye. And when it is
combed it is with sesame oil.
Scented burning-sticks for perfume
Three ounces of benzoin, and one (ounce) of storax and half (an ounce)
of amber; half a quarter of musk, a cuarto of civet
and another (cuarto) of aloe, and half a cuarto
of sugar. Grind everything and together with two ounces of willow charcoal
soaked in orange blossom water, and with a maravedí
of honey and with an ounce of Ghent gum (gum tragacanth?) dissolved in
musk-scented water. And knead everything together. And having made a dough,
make the scented burning-sticks and dry them in the shade or in the sun.
Powders of Cyprus
Take an oak leaf and dry it, and make it into powder and knead it with
musk-scented water. And stick this dough inside a box and perfume it with
pellets two or three times every day until it is soaked. And after the
soaking, again grind it and make a dough with the same water, and perfume
it in the same manner. And do this as many times until it has taken the
powders of the odor of the perfume. And then grind it and, very finely
ground, bring it together with musk and amber at your will. And thus will
be made the powders. You are warned that when you perfume the dough you
should cover the box very well with a cloth, so that no smoke escapes.
A very good enema
Three ounces of purple oil, another three (ounces) of camomile oil and
another three (ounces) of cow fat. Everything mixed together and tepid.
Unction for the breasts of women who
have recently given birth
Eight ounces of purple oil, half an escudilla of
mint juice and the same amount of parsley juice, one ounce of vinegar
and eight (ounces) of rose water. Boil everything together in a stew-pot
until there is no more quantity of oil. Cook it with a little wax. And
after the woman has given birth, four or five hours, smear it on the breasts,
and put on each nipple a wet cloth where it leaves the breast. And wrap
it with a clean cloth, and put it above a few cloths soaked in rose water.
And do this once every day until she can express milk. And when milk does
not come, put on the breasts a waxed cloth, and seed oil, and kid tallow;
and another on the belly with wax and sweet almond oil, and goat tallow.
And bring these cloths wherever you will.
Remedies for the afterpains when they
have just given birth
Give the woman to drink, once she has just finished giving birth, theriac
dissolved in orange blossom water. And put on her belly a goat membrane,
and change this fabric every three days.
Eight egg yolks fried in camomile oil and dill, and the other of Mecca
straw, and another of cinnamon. Make it all into powder and dust the yolks
with them, putting half on the belly and the other half on the hips, warm
it as much as can be tolerated.
Cook a hen with a lot of caraway, and sesame, and parsley, and a little
saffron. And let her drink an escudilla of that
warm broth.
Recipe to remove spots
An azumbre of clear water, and an (azumbre)
of cow bile, and a fistful of vine-shoot ash, and two ounces of ground
white argol of wine. Boil everything together for a good while, and as
you have boiled it take it off of the fire and add one ounce of rock alum.
And when you want to remove the spots, do it thus: if it was a colored
blemish, put on the spot an egg yolk beaten with a little salt; and if
it was a white blemish, a little soap; and if it is linen, wipe it with
lemon juice and put a little soap on it. And then, to everything wash
it with the water or the aforementioned lye.
Unction to comb the head
Put in a stew-pot the oil of a live lizard, and the recently moulted skin
of a snake and three cut lemons. And set afloat the stew-pot very well,
and put it to the fire and boil until the lizard has burned. And when
it has burned, strain that oil in a flask and comb your hair with it.
Lye to turn hair blond
Take four celemines of vine-shoot ash, and one
pound of ash of the lees of white wine. And add in a pot of rainwater,
and put it over a fire that boils. And when it boils, take it off the
fire and leave it to sit. And as it is sitting, add a flask of that lye,
and put with it licorice and French soap, and put it to the fire that
boils. And skim the head with this lye. And wash with the other from the
pot, or if not, it is the lye to wash the vine-root ash and elm ash. And
if you want to the hair to grow quickly, throw in with those other ashes,
ashes from ivy roots.
Powders for the cough
Take very fine sugar, and flour of beans and licorice, of these three
things two parts of each one; and of oregano and grains of fennel, one
part of each thing. And you will make all this into powder and mix it
all together. And he who has a cough or chest congestion takes these powders
in spoonfuls two or three times before eating, taking a spoonful every
time, the same amount; and when he goes to lay down, he takes another
spoonful, and doesn't drink anything with it.
Unction to grow and perfume the hair
Whoever desires to have their hair grow a lot and to make the head smell
very good, should get used to combing the hair, with vulture grease, in
the sun.
Recipe for icing
Grind sugar and pass it through a sieve. And after it is passed through
a sieve, throw it in a clean mortar. Dissolve a little amber and musk
in orange blossom water, and dissolve the sugar with that water, adding
the water in little by little. And while you make a sugar dough, make
the icing and cook it.
Recipe to make bile for the face
Take four cow galls, and an escudilla of the juice
of sweet limes, and another escudilla of water
of dirty fleece; and four maravedís of myrrh, and
four (maravedís) of tincal, one of rock solimán;
the well-washed and crushed root of a white lily, another root of an arum
lily, a little raw honey. Boil all this in a glass pot until it is thick.
And take heed that the myrrh, and the tincal, and the solimán and the
honey will finish after having boiled with the other things. And after
it has thickened, strain it with a linen cloth. And put it in a flask,
putting in it four maravedís of camphor.
Conserve to heal the teeth
Take two ounces of burnt alum, and another two (ounces) of calamus gum,
and a quarter of cinnamon, and an eighth of mastic. Grind up all these
things and pass them through a sieve, you put them in ten ounces of raw
honey in a clay pot. And put it to the fire, boiling until it becomes
as thick as letuario (a kind of marmelade). And you will make a
strip of linen and put this conserve on the strip. And put it on the gums.
If you put it on at night don't remove it until the morning; and rinse
the mouth with hot wine or with hot water, with whichever you desire.
Perfume to make pellets of rose perfume
Take a pound of roses without the buds, and seven ounces of ground benzoin.
Put the roses to soak in musk-scented water overnight. Then remove these
roses and squeeze out the water well, and crush them with the benzoin.
And when they are crushed, put with it a fourth of amber and another (fourth)
of civet. And after grinding, make your pellets and put them each between
two rose leaves, and dry them where they won't be in the sun.
Powders to clean and heal the teeth
Take red coral, and sea cockles and weeded soil, of each of these things
the weight of a half real; and of seed pearls,
the weight of a real; and of meerschaum, the weight
of a real and a half. Make all these things into
powder. After having cleaned the teeth with these powders, wet a thin
linen cloth in tepid white wine, and smeared in these powders, bring it
gently to the teeth and do not rinse the mouth.
Tallow for the hands
Two layers of kidney-fat of a goat and one of a sheep, cut into pieces.
Soak it in water for nine days, stirring the water every day. After washing
it very well, and the water has been well-purified, melt it in a glass
pot and throw in a little sweet lime juice. And afterwards strain it,
and make the loaves in your escudillas on sweet
lime juice. And after it solidifies, make the loaves into pieces, and
again melt them in a vessel of silver or glass. And put with it scented
oil, whichever you like and the quantity you desire, and then make your
little loaves.
Mouthwash for the gums
Three ounces of plantain water, and another three (ounces) of rose water;
plantain juice, two ounces; bolástica, the weight of a real
and a half; olive leaves, the weight of two reales;
Cyprian apple the weight of a real and a half;
of fat and ground mastic and placed in a ligature, of each thing the weight
of one real; rose vinegar an ounce and a half;
myrrh, the weight of two reales. Grind all these
things and put in a stew-pot ten ounces of red wine (along with the powder?).
Cook it until it diminished by a quarter, and once it has cooked, strain
it; and rinse the mouth with it.
Plucker to pull out the hair
A quarter of turpentine, half an ounce of new wax, one ounce of mastic.
Put it all together in a stew-pot on the fire and give it two or three
boilings, so that it all melts. Strain it through a thin cloth into a
clean basin. And before it's just congealed, form it into little loaves.
Lye for washing the head
Half a celemín of vine-shoot ash, and another half
(of a celemín) of oak ash, half a pound of burnt
and ground-up white argol, another half pound of ground-up sesame, six
maravedís of bone ash. Put this all in a pot horizontally
and press it well. Add a patcher of water and leave it to rest two or
three hours. And then cook it until it is strong, as much as is necessary.
Put half a celemín of ash in a colander, pass this
lye through it and cover the vessel into which you strained it, so that
no vapors can escape. And after straining put with it an escudilla
of honey.
Mudas for the face when travelling
A dozen grains of very clean oats, two cleaned peach pits. Crush all this
together with water for the face. Add as much crystallized sugar as a
hazelnut and as much incense as a half a chick-pea, and dissolve it well.
When you want to travel, add a drop of argol oil to it and put it on the
face. Take care of the face. And if you desire, you can put it on at night
and take it off in the morning washing with your water for the face. It
is also very good for the face.
Recipe for making orange blossom oil
For each pound of orange blossom flowers one ounce of oil. Knead the flower
of the orange blossom with the oil and after it is kneaded, put it in
a vessel in the sun and stir it little by little; and if it was in the
very strong sun, don't leave it more than a day. And afterwards strain
it, and catch the oil with a feather. And if it does not keep with good
scent, again put in as much of the flowers and do the same.
Scented pellets for perfume
Two pounds of rose water and one pound of orange blossom water, one pound
of benzoin and a half (pound) of storax, one ounce of amber and a half
(ounce) of musk, a cuarto of civet. Mix everything
together and grind it, and put it with the water in a flask, and put the
flask to the fire over live coals. Mix it with a stick and cook it until
it diminishes from three parts to one. And once it has diminished, remove
that paste and make it, if you want pellets, and if not, keep it thus
in a paste.
Powders to line the eyes
Tutty burned in a crucible nine times, and killed in rose water and cured
in the air. And then grind it and pass it through a very thick sieve.
Line the eyes with these powders.
Recipe to make sallow ointment
Two drams of tincal, one dram of camphor, half an ounce of white coral.
Of cooked gypsum, of umbilicos de marino, of white still, of starch,
of crystal, of autal -- which are stones like dog's teeth -- of
white southernwood resin, of prepared saltpeter: of each thing of these
three drams. Of alabaster two drams; of ground serpentine root well-washed
in rose water and dried in the sun, one dram; of very white white lead,
six ounces. All these things ground and sifted, mixed with eighteen ounces
of fresh pig fat melted over a low fire, and one ounce of hen's ovary-fat,
and one dram of the tallow of a goat or a sheep, I say a dram and a half.
Join these things together in a silver tachón and mix well. And
when it is well mixed, take out by a citron all the sourness and boil
this, and put it to the coals and leave it until it boils a little. And
when it has boiled, return it to the tachón and stir it well until
it curdles; and when it has curdled, keep it in a glass bottle. It is
good to remove every mark from the face, to clarify it and make it white.
It is good on its own for the pink drop and unconfirmed leprosy.
Fine scented powder of Cyprus
An ounce and a half of the flower of small holm oak of the northern part,
that has been dried in the shade, and ground and passed through a sieve.
One ounce of the powders of cardinal iris that were taken in May. Knead
these powders with orange blossom water and rose water, and then put this
dough in a large bowl and perfume it with benzoin until it is dry. And
when it is dry, pulverize it again. And add musk and storax, also pulverized,
and a little civet mixed with rose water, and let them dry. And then again
pulverize it and keep it in a glass flask.
Recipe for common perfumes
Seven ounces of marine galingale, eight of sea-heath soaked in white vinegar
and removed from the vinegar, two of incense, a little laudanum, another
little bit of lavender, willow charcoal prepared in white vinegar. All
these things ground up, and passed through a sieve and mixed together,
knead them with Ghent gum (gum tragacanth?) soaked in rose water for a
natural day. And after kneading it, make of the dough whatever you'd like,
scented burning-sticks or pellets.
Water to wash the face
For a half an azumbre of water you will take as
much opium poppy as two nutshells. And crush them, removing the milk from
them, and bring that together with the water. And put with it as much
tincal as a hazelnut and a half, and as much incense as two chick-peas,
and half a bean of clarimente, and two bulb-coats of white lily,
and as much crystallized sugar as a walnut, and a little tragacanth. All
these things ground up and brought together with the water. And put the
water in a stew-pot, put it on the fire and lid it well. Cook it until
it diminishes by two fingers' breadth. And then put in as much solimán
as the weight of three quarters of a real, little
by little so as not to lower the boiling, and leave it to cook until it
diminishes another half a finger's breadth. And then put it to the fire
and throw inside a burnt egg with the shell and all. And lid it and let
it cool. And when it is cold put it in a flask and put with it as much
camphor as a chick-pea, and wash with it.
Recipe to make
fine blood pudding
Grated bread, sliced almonds, pine nuts, cloves and ground cinnamon, cooked
egg yolks, fresh lard, salt which is necessary, sugar dissolved in perfumed
water. Knead all these things (together). And when the mixture is made,
fill the guts - which are the thin ones of a cow - with this mixture.
And cut up the guts, prick them with a pin; and put a pot of water on
the fire, when it boils put the guts in it, and leave them until the sound
of the cooking has stopped.
Water to wash the face
Raw cut-up duck feet, a puesta de vaca, I speak of the cut-up meat
of a cow. Bring everything together and distill it in a still, wash the
face with this water. It is very good.
Remedy for the pain in the side (as a
stitch in the side)
Take nine pill-bugs that walk under orange-trees that, on being approached,
make little balls. Grind them well and dissolve them in white wine or
in orange blossom water, and give them to the ill person to drink. Do
this thirty days and it should remove the pain suddenly. When he drinks
this, the ill person should lie on the side where the pain is.
Mouthwash
An ounce of rose heads and a quarter of the seeds; one ounce of deer's
antler burnt until it has become white, half an ounce of date seeds, a
cuarta of rosemary flowers, two ochavas
of mastic, as much of rock salt and another two of fat; half an ochavas
of cinnamon, another half (an ochavas) of cloves. All these things
ground up and cooked in two cañadas of strong white vinegar. Cook
well, rinse the mouth with this mouthwash.
Fine scented powders
Of the old oaks, take a white thing which is made under them, which is
called flower of small holm oak, and clean it well from dust and twigs
and wash it well in two or three waters. And squeeze much of the water
from it, put it to soak in a glass vessel, in rose water and orange blossom
water, equal parts of these waters. And leave it in the water until it
separates like a tree-limb. And once it is thus, remove it and, without
squeezing it, put it in a glass pot. And put with it two parts of benzoin
and storax, ground and sifted. And put the pot to the fire, until everything
is dry, mixing it always so it will not stick. And once it is dry, grind
it and pass it through a sieve, and sprinkle it with scented water, in
a manner so that it will not get very soaked. And put the powders on a
sieve, and put the sieve in a stew-pot which has a big mouth, and put
inside the pot a perfuming pan with pellets. And perfume these powders
two or three days, three or four times a day. And then pass them through
a sieve. And according to the quantity of the powders, so you make grated
amber and ground musk; and bring everything together, in a still, altered
with a little scented water. And mix them in the still until it absorbs
the water. And when it absorbs the water, put it in a clean thing, in
a place where it will not get in the sun, until it is dry.
Mostillo (usually a must-and-mustard
sauce) for the face
As many black grapes as white (grapes) of the most honey-like that you
can find. Pass the bunches, each by itself, through boiling water two
or three times. And then remove the juice from those bunches and strain
it. And put it in a glass flask, and put with it tincal, and clarimente,
and camphor, equal parts of each thing; and very little verdigris; and
rock solimán, as much as seems enough; and a little bit of unrefined
honey cleaned of wax. And put this flask to rest in a place where it will
not get sun, and leave it until it becomes clear. And when it is clear,
it is good. And it is very good for washing the face.
Red wine for the face
Two azumbres of red wine, eight maravedís
of rock solimán, and another eight (maravedís)
of myrrh, four (maravedís) of camphor, four (maravedís)
of borax and another four (maravedís) of clarimente;
seeds of six poppies, three or four maravedís of
gourd seeds, a maravedí of verdigris. All this
ground up and put in the wine. Beat six eggs with the shells and put them
in the wine, and beat everything well; and put it all in a flask. Put
the flask in the sun and stir it every day until it becomes clear. And
in being clear, take the flask out of the sun.
Vinegar to wash the face
Put six eggs to soak in white vinegar and leave them until the eggshells
dissolve. And then take them out, and open them in a basin and take the
yolks, and beat them in a washbasin. And put with them two maravedís
of rock solimán and two (maravedís) of borax,
and two (maravedís) of clarimente, and two
(maravedís) of camphor, and two (maravedís)
of white lead, and a dragonroot, and a lily bulb, and a spoonful of honey,
and a little hormento, and four maravedís
of myrrh, and a little ground glass, and a little bit of the ground-up
and sifted excrement of a dog, and a few pitch trefoils. All these things
ground up and mixed with the egg yolks. Add to them a cuartillo
of white wine and a few of the eggs' whites, and a little vinegar. And
beat it all together very well. And then I urge that you beat it two or
three days and leave it util it becomes clear.
Water to wash the face
Put in a new stew-pot an azumbre of white wine,
and another (azumbre) of water; and put with it
borax, clarimente, camphor, verdigris, rock solimán, strong
southernwood resin, black chick-peas, sea beans, a small mound of white
lead, green dragon, opium poppies, gourd seeds, bitter almonds: a maravedí
of each of these things. And grind each of these things by itself. And
put also a little washed turpentine, and six cleaned and quartered sweet
limes. And lid the pot very well, and put it to the fire. And cook it
until it has diminished by three fingers' breadth. And then put the lid
on it and cover it with cloth and leave it to be a good while so that
it rests. And then add into it four crumbled eggs with the shells and
all. And beat it well with a stick, and again put the cloth back on and
leave it two or three days. And when the three days have passed, strain
that water and keep it in a flask to wash your face with it.
Recipe for making green dragon for the
face
Take dragonroots, well washed and peeled, and make it into thin slices
and string them on a thread. And put them to dry so they can be ground.
And grind them, and pass them through a sieve. And get the thick milk
from gourd seeds and from opium poppies. And add this milk in the powder
until it seems like mud. And smear this mud in a glass still, and leave
it to dry. And then repeat the grinding and again do the same as before
with the milk. And after it dries, grind it again and sift it. And while
grinding add a little white lead foam and put (the powders) in a box between
horizontal papers. And when the face is washed and one has just finished
washing, take the powders in a wet cloth, and wash with the cloth. And
if you want to put with it a little solimán it is very good.
Recipe for a pork
blood pudding
Two pounds of pork that is from the back and that has been for one day
in a marinade with the guts. Then wash (the pork) and cut it up with a
dozen cooked eggs and with a pound of lard. And after cutting it, put
it in a still and add with it a dozen raw eggs, and a cuarta
and a half of cloves, and ground cinnamon, and a little pepper, and mix
it well. And once it is mixed, and the salt which is necessary has been
added, fill the guts with it and insert at intervals the cooked egg yolks
that you desire.
Recipe for making a
conserve of alajú (a delicacy of Arabic origin, basically a paste
made of almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts, toasted breadcrumbs, spices, and
honey)
Knead together well-sifted flour with oil and water. And leave the dough
somewhat hard and knead it well. And make thin cakes and cook them well,
so they can be ground; and grind them and sift them. And then take a celemín
of ground cleaned walnuts, and two pounds of ground toasted almonds. And
while you crush the walnuts and almonds, mix them. Put a well-measured
azumbre of honey to the fire, and the best that
you can find, skim it and return it to the fire. And when the honey rises,
add the walnuts and almonds in it. And cook it until the honey is cooked.
And when it is, remove it from the fire and put with it a half a celemín
of the grated flour cakes, and mix it well. And then add a half ounce
of cloves and and another half (ounce) of cinnamon, and two nutmegs, all
ground-up. And then repeat the stirring a lot. And then make it into cakes
or put it in boxes, whichever you desire more.
Recipe for making orange blossom oil
The dry almonds of the freshest you can find, cleaned and cut in half,
placed horizontally between orange blossoms and have them this way for
nine days. Crush the almonds well and make them rose-colored in a basin,
and press the oil from them, and add a little musk, and amber. And put
a pot of water on the fire. And when it boils, put inside it the vessel
containing the oil, in a manner so that the water will not get into the
oil, and let it receive three or four boilings. And then remove it and
keep it wrapped in cotton.
Recipe for making
cakes of chicken breasts
Two cooked and crushed chicken breasts, a pound of cleaned and crushed
almonds, and a half pound of sugar; a little Majorcan cheese, rose water
which is necessary, two well-beaten egg whites, a little ginger, a little
salt. Everything scrambled, placed in a frying-pan and cover it and put
it on the fire. When it is half-cooked, separate it and sprinkle it with
rose water. And powder it with ground sugar, and later return it to finish
cooking.
Recipe for quince pies
Take the smoothest quinces you can find, and clean them, and cut a hole
the size of a real in the skin against the other
end, and remove the seeds. And fill it with sugar water, and cinnamon
and butter, as much of one as of the other. And top off the hole with
butter. And put in each quince a dozen whole cloves. And put in each pie
three or four quinces, and fill the pie with egg yolks; and put the lid
on the pie and cook it in the oven. The pie dough will be kneaded with
fresh butter.
Recipe for orange blossom
conserve
Clean the flower and, when washed, crush it and squeeze it well with your
hands; and then wash it in clean water, moving the water until the orange
blossom has become sweet. And when it is sweet, take two parts of the
flower and one of clarified sugar high temperature, and another of clarified
honey. And once it is cold, add the orange blossom that has been very
well-squeezed with your hands, and mix it well, and put in a little musk
dissolved in scented water.
Recipe for conserve of alojas
(aloja is a spiced honey drink, which seems to be unrelated to
this recipe)
For six ounces of starch, two pounds of sugar. Put the starch in an escudilla
of rose water and dissolve the sugar in another escudilla
of rose water. And in giving it three or four boilings, add a beaten egg
white. And in returning it to boil, strain it through a thick cloth. And
strain the starch. And together with the sugar, put it to the fire. And
it is on the fire until it becomes thick, stirring it always. And when
it is thick, put it in its boxes.
Recipe for quince turnovers
Clean the quinces (and) quarter them (and) put them in a frying pan, cover
them with water and honey. And put the frying pan to the fire, and turn
the quinces many times. And once they are white, take them out and make
the turnovers. And when the lid has been put on the turnover, cook it
in the oven. Put a whole in the turnover and, at medium heat, add another
little bit of honey; and then finish cooking them. And to see if they
are cooked or not do this: put a stick by the hole, and if the honey makes
a thread they are cooked and if not, (they're) not (cooked enough).
Recipe for making
almond sweetmeats
For each pound of honey a well-beaten egg white and mixed with the honey.
And beat it well, letting it rest for a day. And at the other day, cook
the honey well, stirring it always without stopping until it is well cooked.
See if it is cooked in this way: add a drop of honey in an escudilla
of cold water, and if afterwards from being cold it crumbles, it is cooked,
and if not, (it's) not (cooked enough). And when it is cooked, add pine
nuts, or almonds, or hazelnuts, toasted and ground up. And put it to the
fire for a little while. And then remove it, and make clusters or slices,
whichever you desire more, from it.
Recipe
for rice casserole
Put in a pot rice and grated cheese, which is very good, and salt; and
stir everything well. And then put with that as much broth as seems to
you to be enough, that is concentrated broth of meat. And put on top whatever
meat you desire, and cook it in the oven. And when it is nearly cooked,
take it out and put slices of fresh cheese on top, and egg yolks and spices.
And then return it to the oven and finish cooking. And when it is cooked,
serve it on plates or in bowls, whichever you desire more.
Recipe for a dish
called viafora
Almonds half-toasted, crushed and altered with thick mutton broth or chicken
broth. Strain that milk and put it in a stew-pot, put with it mutton which
is from the leg and not thoroughly cooked, cut up into bits, and a little
sugar, and cinnamon and very little ginger. And cook it, stirring constantly,
until it becomes thick. And when it has cooked, make escudillas
of it with sugar and cinnamon on top.
Recipe to dress
a capon to the Florentine use
Crush ground almonds in a mill for making mustard, and alter them with
two parts of capon broth and one (part) of grape verjuice. And for one
pound of almonds, you will put four ounces of sugar and a little ginger
soaked in rose water and of the grease of the capon, and six ounces of
starch and an escudilla of rose water. And when
it has cooked, and the capon is cooked, you will put the carved capon
on a plate; and you will put over it this sauce, and sugar and cinnamon.
Recipe for making
fritters
Fresh cheese kneaded with flour, and egg whites and sugar. Then fry it
in lard and put sugar and rose water on top.
Recipe for royal
paste
Cut clean almonds in quarters like pine nuts. And then take ground sugar;
and for two escudillas of sugar take one (escudilla)
of rose water. And mix everything together, and put it to cook; and when
it is cooked, the royal paste is made.
Recipe for making hippocras
For an arroba of wine, four ounces of cinnamon
and ten pounds of sugar; mix everything together well in a washtub. And
put in a conical cloth strainer so that it can be strained, and put a
little musk in the strainer.
Royal acaravias
Well-sifted flour beaten with milk and eggs, equal parts, until it has
become very thin. And then put it in a stew-pot and put the pot next to
the fire. And after an hour, put a frying pan on the fire with a lot of
butter. And put the dough in a pot with five holes in it and drop the
dough through the holes into the butter; and flip them and take them out.
And as you remove them, stack them on top of each other and cast ground
sugar on top.
Peaches
in sugar
Take peaches that are not very ripe, and clean them and take out the seeds
in the manner that leaves the peach whole. And put the sugar to the fire
to clarify. And while the sugar is clarifying, put the peaches in cold
water. And after clarifying and skimming the sugar, take out the peaches
and, drying the water from them well, put them in the sugar. And put the
sugar to the fire, and cook it on a low fire until they are well cooked,
take a punty and jab them; and if the punty passes through, they are done
cooking. And when they are cooked, take them out of the sugar one by one.
And put them on your plates, put them in the sun until they are dry. And
when they are dry, return them to clarify in the sugar at a high temperature,
and put in it a little bit of musk. And when the sugar is clarified, pass
them one by one through it with a fork; and return them to the plates.
And dry them in the sun, and keep them.
Recipe for marchpanes
As much sugar as almonds, the sugar ground-up and the almonds crushed;
knead it all together with rose water. And make the marzipans, take them
to the oven and, at medium heat, remove them and put sifted sugar on top,
and return them to the oven and finish cooking them. The marzipans should
be made into wafers.
Recipe for marchpanes
As much sugar as almonds. Put the sugar on the fire with orange blossom
water. And once it has given two or three boilings, lower it and clarify
it with your egg white. And then return it to cook until it seems like
honey; and lower it and let it cool. And when it is cold, add the crushed
almonds into it. And before it has finished cooling, knead everything
together well. And make the marchpanes, and put ground sugar on their
faces and carry them to the oven.
Recipe to whiten sugar and clean it
Put the sugar to the fire and, in beginning to boil, beat two or three
egg whites well, and add the froth which they (the egg whites) make into
the sugar. And when the sugar becomes frothy, skim it well. And again
add more frothy beaten egg whites, and again skim it. And do this two
or three times, and it will be good.
Mudas for the hands
Take an escudilla of the juice of the roots of cardinal lily, and
an ounce and a half of French soap, and as much fresh unsalted butter
as two eggs. Cook everything together in a pot until it is thick. And
rub it on your hands, twice every day, once in the morning and once at
night. And then bring it on your hands for fifteen days without washing
them, always wearing gloves on your hands.
Weights and Measures
Many of the measurements mentioned in the Manual have no directly corresponding measures in the English language. Following are some which are mentioned in the Manual, with their modern English-language equivalents.
adarme: 1.79 grams
arroba: a liquid measure of varying quantity
azumbre: 2 liters
celemín: half a peck
cuarto: a copper coin, worth four maravedís
cuartillo: either a quarter-celemín for dry measure, or a quarter-azumbre for liquid measure, or a quarter-real
dinero: a silver coin
escudilla: a small hemispherical cup (used to measure liquid volume)
hanega: 1.60 bushels
maravedí: a coin
real: a coin
You can also get additional information about late 15th century Spanish weight units and measuring units.
Medicinal Herbs in the Manual
A lot of the obscure plants mentioned in the Manual have various medicinal properties. Here is a key to some of the plants mentioned; I've listed the name used in the Manual, the common English name (which I've used in the translation), and the Latin name.
| Spanish | English | Latin |
| albohol | sea heath | Frankenia pulverulenta |
| alquitira | tragacanth | Astragalus gummifer (gum) |
| angelote | pitch trefoil | Psoralea bituminosa |
| anime | courbaril | Hymenaea courbaril |
| canfora | camphor | Cinnamomum camphora (ketone) |
| carrasca | holm oak | Quercus ilex |
| encienso | southernwood resin | Artemisia abrotanum (resin) |
| estoraque | storax | Styrax (resin) |
| goma de gante | gum tragacanth (translates more literally to "gum of Ghent"; Brighid ni Chiarain believes it to be gum tragacanth) |
Astragalus gummifer (gum) |
| juncia | galingale | Cyperus longus |
| menjuí | benzoin | Styrax benzoin (resin) |
| mirra | myrrh | Commiphora (resin) |
| sangre de drago | calamus gum | Sanguis draconis (resin) |
| taragontía | green dragon, dragonroot | Arisaema dracontium |